With climate change in the news and energy prices rising year on year, energy efficiency is a hot topic. By making just a few small changes, you can improve the efficiency of your hot water system. Here are a few things you can try to save some money and protect the environment.

1. Service Your Water Heater Regularly

The more often you service your water heater, the more efficiently it can operate. During a water heater service, a hot water specialist tweaks the settings on the boiler to ensure it is working as efficiently as possible. As a bonus, regular servicing also reduces the risk of your water heater breaking down.

2. Keep Your Water Heater Clean

Water heaters work much more efficiently when they are clean. Dust, sludge or rust can block the tubes and pipes that feed the water heater, preventing it from working properly. If the water heater gets too clogged up with dirt, the result could be a dangerous build-up of pressure, so it is important to keep the unit clean.

It is not safe to clean the inside of a water heater yourself. Instead, you should hire a boiler service company to clean the unit thoroughly.

3. Check the Pressure

Home water heaters should have a water pressure of between 1 and 1.5 bar. You can use valves to reduce water pressure that is too high down to the correct value. If the pressure is too low, you can use the filling loop to re-pressurise the water heater.

If the water pressure of your boiler keeps dropping too low, it is likely that there is a leak somewhere in your hot water system. You can search for the leak yourself by looking for wet patches, but it is best to leave the repair to a professional.

4. Power Flush the System

Power flushing is a highly effective way of driving sludge, rust and other types of debris out of your hot water system. Ask your hot water service provider if power flushing could help to improve the efficiency of your hot water system.

5. Insulate the Pipes

Heat radiates away from hot pipes if they are not insulated, wasting energy and driving up your energy bills. You can easily reduce this wastage by wrapping all hot water pipes in foam insulation. You can purchase suitable insulation at a hardware store and apply it yourself using heat-resistant tape.

For more information on hot water systems, contact a plumber near you.